About This Book

Sometimes you can choose your family… by choosing to love a cat! But just because they’re animals doesn't mean they won’t be as complex and individual as anyone else around. They come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. From silly to sophisticated, from impish to affectionate, and everywhere in between, our cats are important and beloved members of our families. With an emphasis on stories about rescues, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That? will have owners of all breeds laughing, commiserating, and maybe even shedding a tear. These 101 heartwarming, humorous and completely true stories about our feline friends are sure to touch every cat lover's soul. Perfect for every cat’s person. The royalties from this book go to American Humane.

More from Chicken Soup for the Soul

Five things you need to accept if you share your home with a cat!
Inspired by Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That?

Do you find yourself marveling over what your cat did? You’re not alone. From cats with nine lives to cats that save lives, from cats that wreck houses to cats that repair families, we’ve got the stories! The 101 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That? will help you see your own cat with new appreciation for his or her unique skills and intuition. Here are five things you should accept about your own crazy cat:

There’s no such thing as taking care of a cat for just a little while. Despite her reservations, Charlotte Lewis found herself babysitting a pair of cats when their owner moved into an assisted living facility. “I’d never had a cat, let alone an indoor cat,” she shares. But she agreed to take them for a month or so until a suitable home could be found. More than ten years later, the cats still live with Charlotte. “At this point in time, I suppose it would be cruel to suggest that different arrangements be made. We have established a routine of daily living,” she says. “They seem to love me, and I certainly have developed affection for both Louis and Harry—my guest cats.”

Your cat may want his own pet. Known for his hunting skills, Joyce Laird’s cat often brought home “trophies.” So when Joyce heard Ringo come inside one night and felt something small scratch her face, she panicked. But then she noticed Ringo intently watching something. “A very tiny, totally black bunny was hopping around his feet,” Joyce says. “And Ringo the great hunter was just looking at it.” The cat then fell sound asleep to her and her husband’s amazement. They made the rabbit a home and it became a beloved pet. “Ringo did not stop being an avid hunter,” Joyce says, “but he was fiercely protective of his rabbit friend.”

Even the cat knows when a family member is in danger. One hot summer afternoon, Stormy Corrin Russell dozed on the couch. Her mom had gone out for a minute while her dad rested and her toddler sister played. “I would’ve stayed asleep there, under the fan, if Mr. Princess hadn’t started howling,” Stormy says about her cat. “The cat kept yowling, pacing the windowsill and getting louder by the second.” Realizing something was wrong, she went to check and saw her sister in the middle of the busy road! Stormy sprinted outside, swooped up her sister, and rushed back home. “There is one big reason why my sister turned seventeen this summer, and that is Mr. Princess,” Stormy says. “He was a pretty cat with a silly name, but he saved her life.”

Cats are natural therapists. When her father-in-law’s assisted living center started a pet-visiting program, Leslee Kahler started bringing her Nekko every time she visited. “She soon became very popular with the residents at the home,” Leslee says. “She would walk down the corridor and let strangers pick her up and pat her.” During one visit, Leslee says a hospice nurse asked if Nekko could visit an elderly woman, a cat lover, who had said she could die happy if she could pet a cat one more time. Nekko sat with the woman, purring, for a good half hour. When the nurse returned to the room, she found Nekko sitting at the foot of the bed, mewing softly. The woman had passed a few minutes earlier. “But,” Leslee shares, “she’d died smiling.”

Every “dog person” has the ability to become a “cat person.” Jessica Moran says she was a “dog person.” But while walking her dog one day, she encountered a stray, sick kitten who had fallen from a tree. She called her vet, and learned that if she brought the kitten to the office for treatment she’d be responsible for payment. “So, despite the fact that I was not a cat person,” Jessica shares, “I thought to myself, I picked him up and brought him home, so he is my responsibility now.” Jessica and her husband planned to get the kitten healthy again and find him a good home. “But that didn’t happen,” she says, “because we fell in love with him.”